How to place duplicated objects at various locations/rotations in a scene?
This sounds like an XY problem. If you're trying to make an animation and move them all together, it's probably easier to just duplicate them a bunch of times and then parent the objects to a common empty.


Duplicate and move them. You can do the  rotation by putting the 3D cursor where you want the center and setting the Pivot Center to '3D Cursor'.
Add an Empty object at the center point. If you used the 3D cursor rotation method, it will be added at the correct point to start!
Select all the objects you want to move together, and then the Empty you just added. Press Ctrl+P to parent them.


Now when you move the  Empty around (or rotate it), the other objects will follow it.